Archive for the ‘recipe’ tag

Our family has some special traditions for preparing for Santa’s visit. First, we make a batch of “reindeer food” to leave on the ground for Santa’s reindeer. In the evening, we sprinkle it on the ground outside so the reindeer have something to eat while Santa is inside. We don’t have a fireplace, so we know that Santa parks on the front lawn. Check out the recipe for Magic Reindeer Food below.

We also prepare a plate of cookies and a glass of milk that we leave on the table. Santa usually only leaves crumbs, since he is a big fan our our cookies.

During the evening, we check out where Santa is in the world on Norad. It truly is a great learning activity so the kids can learn the parts of the world, the time changes, and the distance from place to place.

Other families hang stockings for Santa to fill, leave a magic key outside, and more. What do you do on Christmas Eve to welcome Santa?

Preheat oven to 350° F. Arrange crescent dough on baking stone and pinch seams together. I like to spread it out flat on a baking sheet. You can arrange in a wreath circle pattern. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool.

One of my favorite days in the month of December is the day we make our Christmas treats. The kitchen is filled with the smells of cinnamon, caramel, chocolate, and more. The tradition started with my sister-in-law’s family, and we baked cookies together as her children grew up. Her children are now all in college, so we carry on the tradition in our home.

The variety has changed over the years. Plus, sometimes we try some new things. Once we experimented with cake balls, another time was peppermint bark. This year was white chocolate party mix. I probably gained a pound or two just taste testing, and now have to hide most of the treats from all the boys in my family, but we always make a lot of memories!

What is your favorite treat to make? Mine is Turtle Pretzels. Simple to make and yummy to eat, plus a fun activity for the kids.

Turtle Pretzels

Ingredients:

Square Pretzels

Rolo Candies

Pecan Halves

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a cookie tray lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Place a rolo candy in the middle of each pretzel. Bake for 4 minutes. Press a pecan half onto each candy-covered pretzel to spread. Let cool completely before packaging.

One of my favorite fall flavors is pumpkin. I buy canned pumpkin starting the first week of September all the way through the end of November. Below are several of my favorite recipe links, as well as my personal favorite recipe for pumpkin bars! There are so many delicious options!

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir dry mix into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.

To make the frosting: Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners sugar, a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cooled bars and cut into squares.

Fall is in the air…and when I think of fall, the first thing that comes to mind is apples!

Here are some of our favorite apple recipes that you might want to try out this fall. You’ll also find my personal recipe for Apple Crumble Pie at the bottom! Every year we visit an apple farm for apple picking. Check and see if there are any near you!

In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients and spoon the mixture into the pie shell. For the topping, combine sugar and flour, then cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping on the pie filling. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375° and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the topping is browned and the apples are tender. Cover the crust edges with foil during the last 15 minutes if needed. Cool the pie completely before cutting. Yield: 6-8 servings.

One of our go-to desserts for celebrating special occasions is my Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. This is a great dessert that you can decorate or leave undecorated. I personally like to use store-bought frosting to decorate it. I typically use one can of white frosting and one of chocolate frosting. Use your imagination to bring this cookie to life!

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy in a large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time. Gradually add flour, salt, and baking soda and beat until well blended. Then add chocolate chips.

Put batter in greased pan and bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a cooling rack. Decorate with frosting.

During the summer I love to use fresh ingredients to make our food. One of my family’ go-to summer favorites is Texas Caviar. We use this with our favorite tortilla chips or eat it as a side dish. This also keeps in the fridge for several days!

Ingredients

2 small jalapeños

1 cup chopped peppers (any mix of colors)

¼ cup red onion

1 can of black beans and 1 can of another type of bean (or 2 cans of black)

1 can of corn

1 chopped tomato

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

¼ cup of chopped celery

¼ cup of chopped cilantro

¼ jar of italian dressing (your favorite)

Instructions

Chop up everything and put in a bowl. Mix in Italian dressing and let sit a minimum of 2 hours in fridge. Add cilantro at end and mix in.

For my entire life, my favorite food has been macaroni and cheese. There is just something about that creamy, delicious mix of cheeses and pasta. It NEVER gets boring because there are so many options! You can pretty much make macaroni and cheese with anything…any type of cheese, any extra ingredients. Meat, seafood, vegetables, they all taste great with a base of macaroni and cheese. The best part is that most kids love this dish too! And “hiding” nutritious foods in it is helpful when you’ve got a picky eater. You can even dress it up as a formal dish for adult dinner parties.

I’m often looking for new ways to enjoy my favorite food, so i’ve combined my TOP 10 FAVORITE mac and cheese recipes (in no particular order) for you all to enjoy. If you’ve ever created your own M&C recipe, share it with us on our Facebook wall!

‘Tis the season to enjoy all things PUMPKIN. Pumpkin lattes and baked goods are all over right now, but this ingredient is great for many different kinds of meals. These big orange things we all love to carve at Halloween are rich in fiber and low in calories. They promote good eyesight, can boost your immune system and can even help prevent some types of cancer due to the rich amount of beta-carotene. Even dogs benefit greatly from pumpkin… it helps calm their stomachs and aids digestion. Besides all that good stuff, pumpkin is the ingredient in some really delicious recipes! Here are a few classics and a few you might not have considered but should try soon!

Fall is here and to me, that means I can start making my favorite cold-weather meals again! Stews, chili, casseroles, roasts and pies are perfect, especially when you use seasonal ingredients like pumpkin and apple. There’s nothing like returning from a fun fall activity and enjoying a delicious meal to warm you up. Here are my favorite fall recipes: